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lavenderbtcpodcast's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
The more I read romance books the pain of no love in my life grows sharper. This debut ARC I have some wishes that are too late to be done now: trigger warning for fat phobia and body image issues (which is added to the authors website), would have loved more Spanish specifically in Marcela & angela convo, the love interests are white and everyone knows by know how I feel about that *deep sigh*. Overall I really enjoyed this book. I can relate to the body type, abandonment, foreign culture, fears, and ugh the smut was so good. I especially wished the penetrative intimacy wouldn't be seen as it is but that is the heteronormative misconception. I wanted to cry and probably will. Ugh to be lonely but at least I have romance books like these.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, and Grief
gretchreads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Librarian + Retired NFL Player? Sign. Me. Up!
Marcela's best friend, Ben, is about to propose to his girlfriend, and on the surface, she is happy for him. But deep down, she is crushed. She has been in love with him since college and her dreams of them getting their happily ever after are dashed. At the engagement party, she catches his brother, Theo, pacing outside the engagement party, practicing his declaration of love for Ben's fiancé. She stops him from making a drunken mistake and convinces him to sleep it off on her couch. They end up heading to the engagement brunch the following morning together, and everyone believes they hooked up. They don't refute it and ultimately decide that being one another's rebounds might be just what they need to get over their unrequited love. The more time they spend together, though, the harder it is to what is fake and what is real...
As lighthearted as this book may sound, the author broaches several difficult topics - from parent abandonment to body insecurity. - authentically. I appreciated how the author showed a relationship in which the main characters allowed the other to be vulnerable on their own timeliness - making them feel all the more relatable. I loved seeing Marcela and Theo help one another heal their past wounds and believe that they were worthy of love.
I absolutely adored this book - I just wish it had been a dual POV! Maybe we can get a bonus chapter / epilogue from Theo's POV in the next book in the series! (A girl can hope, right?) I squealed with delight when I discovered there was a playlist to go along with the book! Listening to playlists after reading is such a great way to relive the magic of the book! Needless to say, I will be reading the next book in the series and cannot wait for Gabriella Gamez's writing career take off!
Read this if you are looking for a book that includes:
-Fake dating
-Diverse characters
-Fat and Mexican representation
-A love square
Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.
Marcela's best friend, Ben, is about to propose to his girlfriend, and on the surface, she is happy for him. But deep down, she is crushed. She has been in love with him since college and her dreams of them getting their happily ever after are dashed. At the engagement party, she catches his brother, Theo, pacing outside the engagement party, practicing his declaration of love for Ben's fiancé. She stops him from making a drunken mistake and convinces him to sleep it off on her couch. They end up heading to the engagement brunch the following morning together, and everyone believes they hooked up. They don't refute it and ultimately decide that being one another's rebounds might be just what they need to get over their unrequited love. The more time they spend together, though, the harder it is to what is fake and what is real...
As lighthearted as this book may sound, the author broaches several difficult topics - from parent abandonment to body insecurity. - authentically. I appreciated how the author showed a relationship in which the main characters allowed the other to be vulnerable on their own timeliness - making them feel all the more relatable. I loved seeing Marcela and Theo help one another heal their past wounds and believe that they were worthy of love.
I absolutely adored this book - I just wish it had been a dual POV! Maybe we can get a bonus chapter / epilogue from Theo's POV in the next book in the series! (A girl can hope, right?) I squealed with delight when I discovered there was a playlist to go along with the book! Listening to playlists after reading is such a great way to relive the magic of the book! Needless to say, I will be reading the next book in the series and cannot wait for Gabriella Gamez's writing career take off!
Read this if you are looking for a book that includes:
-Fake dating
-Diverse characters
-Fat and Mexican representation
-A love square
Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment
Minor: Emotional abuse
dogbuttsandbooks's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
I loved this book! The plus size book loving heroine, the San Antonio vibes, MCs having actual emotional growth and sizzling physical chemistry made Next Best Fling a read I couldn’t wait to come back to multiple times day until I finished it.
At times I worried about our main character, Marcela, and her self sabotaging habits built from a cycle of family trauma, but major kudos to the author for actually having our girl do some much needed self reflection and have a honest to goodness character arc! We love to see it!
I don’t know what tropes I would use to describe this book, and I love that fact! It’s a refreshing read, shaking up the sometimes over-relied on romance tropes. Will “getting over someone by getting UNDER his brother” be romance’s next big thing? Because this was HAWT.
I loved the themes of friendship, how family can hurt you, and self acceptance woven throughout the book. And praise the romance gods for giving us a plus size MC who doesn’t hate her body!!! As a plus size reviewer, I connected with some of Marcela’s very real thoughts and insecurities about previous dates and interactions, but she ultimately never let them become intrusive or stop her from loving herself. Seriously, the bar shouldn’t be so low but I adored how the author allowed Marcela to convey some realities of plus size life without ever leaning on fatphobia to show us.
All in all, I loved this one and will absolutely be recommending to all Texan and Plus size romance readers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol
Moderate: Abandonment, Toxic friendship, Body shaming, Injury/Injury detail, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Fatphobia and Emotional abuse
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